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Olympus TG-860 vs Sony A9 II

Portability
91
Imaging
40
Features
42
Overall
40
Olympus Stylus Tough TG-860 front
 
Sony Alpha A9 Mark II front
Portability
62
Imaging
75
Features
93
Overall
82

Olympus TG-860 vs Sony A9 II Key Specs

Olympus TG-860
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 125 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 21-105mm (F3.5-5.7) lens
  • 224g - 110 x 64 x 28mm
  • Announced February 2015
  • Successor is Olympus TG-870
Sony A9 II
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 51200 (Raise to 204800)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 678g - 129 x 96 x 76mm
  • Revealed October 2019
  • Old Model is Sony A9
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Olympus TG-860 vs Sony A9 II Overview

Its time to examine more closely at the Olympus TG-860 and Sony A9 II, one is a Waterproof and the latter is a Pro Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Sony. There is a crucial difference between the sensor resolutions of the TG-860 (16MP) and A9 II (24MP) and the TG-860 (1/2.3") and A9 II (Full frame) possess different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The TG-860 was released 5 years prior to the A9 II which is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus TG-860 being a Ultracompact camera and the Sony A9 II being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before going straight into a in-depth comparison, below is a brief synopsis of how the TG-860 grades versus the A9 II with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus TG-860 over the Sony A9 II

 TG-860 A9 II 

Reasons to pick Sony A9 II over the Olympus TG-860

 A9 II TG-860 
RevealedOctober 2019February 2015More modern by 56 months
Manually focus Very precise focusing
Screen resolution1440k460kClearer screen (+980k dot)
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Olympus TG-860 and Sony A9 II

 TG-860 A9 II 
Screen typeTiltingTiltingTilting screen
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen sizing
Selfie screen Missing selfie screen

Olympus TG-860 vs Sony A9 II Physical Comparison

For anybody who is looking to carry around your camera frequently, you will have to factor its weight and measurements. The Olympus TG-860 features external dimensions of 110mm x 64mm x 28mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.1") and a weight of 224 grams (0.49 lbs) and the Sony A9 II has proportions of 129mm x 96mm x 76mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 3.0") having a weight of 678 grams (1.49 lbs).

Examine the Olympus TG-860 and Sony A9 II in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you choose at that time. The following is the front view dimension comparison of the TG-860 versus the A9 II.

Olympus TG-860 vs Sony A9 II size comparison

Looking at size and weight, the portability rating of the TG-860 and A9 II is 91 and 62 respectively.

Olympus TG-860 vs Sony A9 II top view buttons comparison

Olympus TG-860 vs Sony A9 II Sensor Comparison

Usually, its tough to picture the gap between sensor sizes just by reading through technical specs. The pic below might give you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the TG-860 and A9 II.

As you have seen, each of these cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The TG-860 featuring a tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF more difficult and the Sony A9 II will give you more detail as a result of its extra 8MP. Higher resolution can also let you crop pictures much more aggressively. The more aged TG-860 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor technology.

Olympus TG-860 vs Sony A9 II sensor size comparison

Olympus TG-860 vs Sony A9 II Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus TG-860 vs Sony A9 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus TG-860 Portrait photography highlights
Sony A9 II Portrait photography highlights
35
MP count decent (16 megapixels)
offers face detection autofocus
lack of manual focus
no manual mode
no external flash support
very small sensor (1/2.3")
no RAW support
85
you can focus manually
decent sensor resolution (24MP)
large sensor size (Full frame)
has face detect focus
delivers RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus TG-860 as a Street photography camera
Sony A9 II as a Street photography camera
69
has a tilting screen
has image stabilization (Optical)
environment proof
very small sensor (1/2.3")
no RAW support
78
has a tilting screen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
large sensor size (Full frame)
delivers RAW files
boasts touch focus
environment proofing
great high ISO (51,200)
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus TG-860
Sports photography with Sony A9 II
48
has image stabilization (Optical)
MP count decent (16MP)
offers tracking autofocus
environment proof
no shutter priority mode
very small sensor (1/2.3")
no phase detect autofocus
87
high shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
silent shooting (1/32,000 seconds)
high frames per second (20.0 frames per second)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent sensor resolution (24MP)
large sensor size (Full frame)
has tracking focus
environment proofing
good battery life (690 CIPA)
sensor has phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus TG-860 as a Travel photography camera
Sony A9 II as a Travel photography camera
71
environment proof
MP count decent (16MP)
built-in flash
pretty wide (21mm)
screen is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
73
good battery life (690 CIPA)
environment proofing
connects via bluetooth
boasts touch focus
decent sensor resolution (24 megapixels)
does not posses selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus TG-860 as a Landscape photography camera
Sony A9 II as a Landscape photography camera
47
pretty wide (21mm)
screen size is good (3")
has image stabilization (Optical)
MP count decent (16MP)
environment proof
lack of manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
no manual mode
very small sensor (1/2.3")
no RAW support
86
you can focus manually
change lenses (Sony E mount)
decent sized screen (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent sensor resolution (24MP)
large sensor size (Full frame)
great high ISO (51,200)
delivers RAW files
environment proofing
good battery life (690 CIPA)
2 card slots
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus TG-860 Vlogging details
Sony A9 II Vlogging details
33
pretty wide (21mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
offers face detection autofocus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
screen is not selfie friendly
no external microphone socket
36
touchscreen functionality
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
has face detect focus
good video quality (3840 x 2160 pixels)
includes mic support
does not posses selfie friendly screen
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Olympus TG-860 vs Sony A9 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus TG-860 and Sony A9 II
 Olympus Stylus Tough TG-860Sony Alpha A9 Mark II
General Information
Company Olympus Sony
Model Olympus Stylus Tough TG-860 Sony Alpha A9 Mark II
Type Waterproof Pro Mirrorless
Announced 2015-02-06 2019-10-03
Physical type Ultracompact SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic VII BIONZ X
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" Full frame
Sensor dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm 35.6 x 23.8mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 847.3mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 24MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Peak resolution 4608 x 3456 6000 x 4000
Highest native ISO 6400 51200
Highest enhanced ISO - 204800
Minimum native ISO 125 100
RAW pictures
Minimum enhanced ISO - 50
Autofocusing
Manual focus
AF touch
AF continuous
Single AF
AF tracking
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Number of focus points - 693
Lens
Lens mount fixed lens Sony E
Lens focal range 21-105mm (5.0x) -
Largest aperture f/3.5-5.7 -
Macro focus range 1cm -
Available lenses - 121
Focal length multiplier 5.8 1
Screen
Type of screen Tilting Tilting
Screen sizing 3" 3"
Screen resolution 460 thousand dots 1,440 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 3,686 thousand dots
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.78x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 4 secs 30 secs
Fastest shutter speed 1/2000 secs 1/8000 secs
Fastest silent shutter speed - 1/32000 secs
Continuous shutter rate 7.0 frames/s 20.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 4.00 m (at ISO 1600) no built-in flash
Flash settings Auto, redeye reduction, fill flash, off, LED illuminator Flash off, Autoflash, Fill-flash, Slow Sync., Rear Sync., Red-eye reduction, Wireless, Hi-speed sync
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60p), 1280 x 720 (60p), 640 x 480 (60p) 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 3840x2160
Video data format H.264 MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Mic support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS Yes None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 224g (0.49 lbs) 678g (1.49 lbs)
Dimensions 110 x 64 x 28mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.1") 129 x 96 x 76mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 3.0")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth score not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range score not tested not tested
DXO Low light score not tested not tested
Other
Battery life 300 photographs 690 photographs
Battery style Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model Li-50B NP-FZ100
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, custom) Yes (2, 5, 10 secs + continuous, 3 or 5 frames)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC slots (UHS-II compatible)
Card slots Single Two
Launch cost $279 $4,498